In 9 US states, a divorce means you'll lose half of everything you own — here's why

Estimates of
divorce rates in America vary, but the reality is a great
many marriages reach this unfortunate conclusion, and
the aftermath is frequently messy, both emotionally and
financially.

When a couple joins as one, their assets typically combine to
form a marital estate, and anything they acquire thereafter
becomes joint property. Upon divorce, those assets — including
real estate, dependent children, income, cars, furniture, stocks,
and retirement accounts — get divided between the former spouses.

Depending on the state you reside in, there are
two ways your assets could be divided:

1. Community property: Marital assets — and
debts incurred by either spouse during the marriage — are
divided 50/50. However, separate property (anything held in only
one spouse's name, including property owned before marriage,
given as a gift, or inherited) is not taken into account. The
states that observe this law are Arizona, California, Idaho,
Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Residents of
Alaska can opt-in to a community property agreement.